Police rescue 32 king cobras

HA NOI - The environmental protection police and the Ha Noi police found 32 king cobras being illegally transported in an interprovincial vehicle, after it was stopped for checking in Hoang Mai District.

The snakes, weighing a total of 84kg, were found in four carton boxes that were not accompanied by any valid documents.

The driver of the vehicle, Trinh Van Hung, 39, said that he was hired by a woman in the central province of Binh Dinh's An Nhon Town to transport the snakes to Ha Noi for VND2 million (S$129).

The police said that the case was part of their continuing investigation of trafficking in wild animals. The king cobras would have been sold to restaurants in Ha Noi and ended up on dinner plates.

All the seized cobras will be transferred to the Ha Noi Wild Animal Rescue Centre soon, the police said.